Algiers
الجزائر – this is the way Arabic people name one of the most important cities on the continent. Algiers is a capital of Algeria. 3,354,000 citizens live there. Algiers is considered to be the largest city (after Casablanca) in the region of North Africa. This region is also named Maghreb or Maghrib meaning “place of sunset”.
“Algeria is a country in Northern Africa, just between Morocco and Tunisia. It is mostly a Muslim country (but there were also a big native Sephardic Jewish community and also a Christian one until 1962). Most of native people there are of Arab/Berber descent, and so about Algiers, actually it’s the capital of Algeria.
Algeria is a very young country, it took its independence in 1962, before this, it was considered as a region of France (therefore a lot of people there speak French, besides of Algerian Arabic or Berber dialects).”
Alger has several names including El-Bahdja and Algiers la Blanche (White Algiers). All its’ names are connected with the amazing sparkling of white buildings rising up from the sea, with the high hills and wonderful landscapes.
Algiers has a status of province with the area of 273 km2. It rises for 122m above the sea. Algiers city is divided into three parts: French areas, Kabash and suburbs territory.
- French area is a lower part of Algiers. It was created after the demolition of ethnic districts. French people set their new administrative center. This part of the city has buildings in French style. There are a lot of large boulevards, theatres, museums and cathedrals.
- Kabash is the oldest area of Algiers. It was built in the 16th century for Ottoman. Unfortunately now this district is the poorest one in the city.
- The third part is the suburbs area. It was built on post-colonial period.
“In Algiers one speaks simply of the existence of two varieties of Islam – one, which is called the Islam of the desert, and a second, which is defined as the Islam of the river (or of the sea). The first is the religion practiced by warlike nomadic tribes struggling to survive in one of the world’s most hostile environments, the Sahara. The second Islam is the faith of merchants, itinerant peddlers, people of the road and of the bazaar, for whom openness, compromise, and exchange are not only beneficial to trade, but necessary to life itself.”
All great cities of the world were built on hills…
Algiers spreads over the winding mountainous coastline for more than twenty kilometers. It exceeds other world cities with its great number of hills, scarps and steep slopes. He seems rising up from the sea to the tops of mountains hiding in white clouds.
When you go from the lower part of the upper quarters, constantly breaking the dizzying turns, the magnificent panorama strikes your imagination. This is the most beautiful capital of the Mediterranean.
Viewing from the upper area you see a giant amphitheater with outstanding gamut of colors: white or orange ultra-modern high-rise buildings; red, green and brown roofs of houses; large parks and squares. The buildings hang over one another, demonstrating the architecture of different epochs.
Streets stretched mainly along the sea. They seem like stairs. There are some houses you can enter on the first floor, take an elevator to the seventh and find yourself in the other street much higher over the sea.
Many architects have been working on the Algiers. They skillfully used local relief full of steep slopes, cliffs and precipices. The most interesting feature of the city is well thought-out faults left in new districts: wastes areas appear among the new buildings.
But the main impression of a city is an abundance of ladders of different forms, calibers and appointments: stone, metal, asphalted, narrow and wide. Most of the streets are also made as ladders, or a combination of stairs with ramps.
That is, for example, Boulevard Mohammed Hamisti in the heart of the city. There is a huge staircase in the middle of the boulevard. Stepping on every stair you will see a magnificent view over the bay of Algiers with ships whitening in the blue sea, roads, ports and coastal districts. The houses roofs on the boulevard create a ladder. Every house differs from others with its figure balcony, stucco decorations, unique shape of windows. But together they harmonize wonderfully. These constructions have excellent combination of colors and arrangement of architectural elements.
Algiers was founded in X century on the ruins of a small Roman settlement Icosium. Originally it belonged to the Arabs, then Turks. In XVI century Spaniards tried to colonize the city, but they were quickly driven out. Since then Algiers had become the main base for the Ottoman pirates. In 1830 the city was occupied by the French who made Algeria the French colony.
Algiers has been declared the capital of Algeria in XX century. Now it is an important center of African continent. The city has the high level of infrastructure and foreign policy. The XXI century brings Algiers new life. Many international conferences and events take place there. Many famous figures and companies are ready to invest in Algiers including Carrefour, Yves Rocher, and even Quick. Many projects are being created there now: the Algiers subway, the tramway, urban renewal projects, the creation of new urban centers on the periphery.
Algiers has a Mediterranean climate. The summers are really warm, the winters are mild.
Whether Data for Algiers
| Month | JAN | FEB | MAR | APR | MAY | JUNE | JULY | AUG | SEP | OCT | NOV | DEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average high C (F) | 15.6 (60) | 16.5 (62) | 18.2 (65) | 20.4 (69) | 22.8 (73) | 26.2 (79) | 29.0 (84) | 29.6 (85) | 27.8 (82) | 24.2 (76) | 20.0 (68) | 22.2 (72) |
| Average law C (F) | 9.3 (49) | 9.7 (49) | 11.0 (52) | 13.0 (55) | 15.2 (59) | 18.5 (65) | 21.1 (70) | 22.0 (72) | 20.4 (69) | 17.2 (63) | 13.6 (56) | 10.5 (51) |
| Precipitation cm (inches) | 9.3 (3.7) | 7.3 (2.9) | 6.7 (2.6) | 5.2 (2) | 3.4 (1.3) | 1.4 (0.6) | 0.2 (0.1) | 0.5 (0.2) | 3.3 (1.3) | 7.7 (3) | 9.6 (3.8) | 11.4 (4.5) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 9 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 11 |
Algiers increases its population regularly. Every next year more and more kinds are born in the city. The statistics says:
In 1950 in 300,000 people lived Algiers.
In 1960 the amount of citizens rose to 900,000.
1977 – 1,353,826
1987 – 1,507,241
1998 – 1,519,570
2007 – 2,072,993
Algiers is really attractive for tourists: beautiful landscapes, seashore, outstanding streets, and interesting national traditions. It is the heart of Algeria implementing all Arabic peculiarities. Museums, small stores will show you the lifestyle of people living in this wonderful place. Green squares and water parks will amaze you with their calm and romantic atmosphere. Visiting Algiers you find yourself in quite another world seems like fairy-tail.